Kathmandu: The three-day high-level meeting between Nepalese and Indian border officials concluded with an agreement to enhance cooperation in controlling cross-border crimes. The meeting, which began last Saturday, emphasized bolstering border security through joint efforts by the two neighboring countries.

Inspector General of Armed Police Raju Aryal and Director General of India’s Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Amrit Mohan Prasad signed a memorandum of understanding after deliberating on 11 agenda items.

Key agreements include:

Strengthened cooperation to combat cross-border crimes, drug smuggling, and human trafficking.
Improved exchange of information to address revenue leakage and illegal entry of third-country nationals.
Efforts to decriminalize no-man’s-land areas and jointly tackle gold smuggling.
Joint Secretary Rishiram Tiwari, spokesperson for Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs, highlighted the commitment to make border security more organized and efficient.

The Indian delegation emphasized the necessity of mutual collaboration to tackle challenges such as the identification of third-country citizens and gold smuggling into India via Nepal.

The meeting, typically held annually, will now take place every six months. Regular district-level and border security meetings will also continue as part of the new arrangement.

The Nepalese delegation included senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal Police, the Department of Investigation, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Indian side comprised a six-member team led by SSB Director General Prasad.